Rubbin' is Racin': Lapped Cars Get to Fight, Too

I'll set the stage.

Ryan Newman, with a good car, was three laps down after a flat tire. Jeff Green, also not on the lead lap, was sitting in the beneficiary position, ready to get a lap back on the next caution.

NASCAR drops the green flag after a caution for Juan Pablo Montoya's crash on lap 75 with Jeff Gordon in the lead.

Ready? Go.
125 laps remaining, apparently, was the magic number for getting a lap back -- or else. That is, at least, if you're Ryan Newman or Jeff Green. Magic enough, at least, to take the leader Gordon three-wide off of turn 2 on lap 76 and cause a pileup of cars that actually had a shot at Sunday's Citizen Bank 400 victory. (Watch after the jump at 5:05)

It happened and, unbelievably, neither Green nor Newman felt they were at fault. I wonder how Matt Kenseth or Brian Vickers (both in the top-10 at that point) felt about it.

I'd imagine Brian and Matt felt that some, uh, profanity was the best way to describe getting taken out of a race by cars that run laps behind them.

But Newman and Green would rather squabble at who's at fault instead of making amends with the drivers that they eliminated from competition on Sunday.

"Jeff Green ran out of talent there off turn two and caused a big crash," said Newman.

Green didn't exactly agree.

"Our car was pretty good, and I think we'd have gotten back on the lead lap. Then the 12 came across our nose on that restart. He was trying to get by Gordon and get a lap back, but I don't know what made him think he could squeeze it in there," said Green.

Me neither. But why was Green making the situation worse by staying in the gas to go three-wide? He wasn't losing anything with Newman passing him.

Brian Vickers, who had another strong run going in his Red Bull Toyota, wasn't exactly happy about the situation

"I think we're at that point in the race, whether you are on the lead lap or not where you just have to be pretty smart because it's just too early in the race not to be," said Vickers.

Kenseth didn't really know what happened, but I'd imagine that Monday he was none too happy that lapped cars took his Ford from competition at a track where he's had so much success.

Anyway you look it, two lapped cars took out some contenders from the field. Pick a side, but neither Newman or Green can truly be defended for running so hard for essentially nothing at the front of the pack.

Instead, they just give NASCAR another reason take away the inside lane from lapped cars and only let the leaders start at the front on restarts. It's time for that policy.

Catch the Rubbin' is Racin' action at the 5:05 mark.